System and methods for providing starter credit card accounts

Abstract

A system and method for providing starter credit card products to selected customers of a credit card issuer is disclosed. Methods, systems and articles of manufacture consistent with the present invention enable a credit card issuer to identify a group of customers that may not eligible to obtain standard credit card products offered by the credit card issuer. The credit card issuer may rank these customers and present offers for starter credit card accounts with adjusted account parameters tailored to these customers. The credit card issuer monitors the activities of each starter card account during a trial period to determine whether each respective account has met predetermined criteria. Based on the results of the monitor process, the credit card issuer may adjust the parameters associated with each starter credit card account. The adjustment may include increasing a credit limit of the starter credit card account if the predetermined criteria has been met, or conversely, restarting the trial period if an account has not met the predetermined criteria during the trial period. Once a starter card account that meets selected criteria during the trial period will graduate and receive new parameters and benefits defined by the credit card issuer.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A system for providing a starter credit account, comprising:
 a processor; and 
 a memory storing a set of instructions that, when executed by the processor, perform operations comprising:
 providing a plurality of credit accounts including at least one starter credit account associated with starter credit account parameters and at (east one standard credit account associated with standard credit account parameters that are more favorable than the starter credit account parameters, wherein the starter credit account is provided to a trial customer who is not eligible to obtain the standard credit account; 
 monitoring the starter credit account to determine whether the trial customer has met predetermined criteria associated with the starter credit account during a trial period and adjusting the starter credit account parameters based on the determination; 
 modifying the duration of the trial period based on activities associated with the starter credit account; 
 storing credit account information associated with standard credit account customers of the credit issuer in a first memory; 
 storing starter credit account information associated with the trial customer in a second memory; and 
 loading the starter credit account information stored in the second memory into the first memory after the starter credit account parameters associated with the starter credit account have been adjusted based on the determination. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the parameters include a credit limit and the operation of monitoring comprises increasing the credit limit when it is determined that the trial customer has met the predetermined criteria during the trial period. 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the parameters further include an interest rate and the operation of monitoring comprises adjusting the interest rate when the trial customer has met the predetermined criteria. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the parameters include an interest rate and a credit limit and the operation of monitoring comprises reducing the credit limit and adjusting the interest rate when the trial customer has not met the predetermined criteria. 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 4 , wherein the credit limit is reduced to zero. 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the operation of monitoring comprises restarting the trial period when the trial customer has not met the predetermined criteria and monitoring the starter credit account to determine whether the trial customer has met the predetermined criteria during the restarted trial period. 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
 determining a group of customers who are not eligible to obtain the standard credit account; 
 ranking the group of customers based on each customer's credit profile, wherein the trial customer is included in the group of ranked customers; and 
 wherein the operation of monitoring adjusts the starter credit account parameters associated with the starter credit account based on the ranking of the trial customer. 
 
     
     
       8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions operable to cause one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
 receiving a request for the standard credit account from the customer; 
 providing a starter credit account in place of the standard credit account to the customer; 
 monitoring the customer's activities associated with the starter credit account during a trial period to determine whether the customer has satisfied predetermined criteria; 
 modifying the duration of the trial period based on the monitored customer's activities associated with the starter credit account; and 
 upgrading at least one of the starter credit account parameters to match at least one of the standard credit account parameters when the customer has satisfied the predetermined criteria. 
 
     
     
       9. The computer-readable medium of  claim 8 , wherein the starter credit account parameters include at least a starter credit limit, and wherein the operation of monitoring the customer's activities comprises:
 determining whether the customer has an outstanding balance associated with the starter credit limit; and 
 determining whether the customer has made a payment toward the outstanding balance. 
 
     
     
       10. The computer-readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein the operation of determining whether the customer has made a payment further comprises:
 determining whether the customer has made the payment within an acceptable period of time. 
 
     
     
       11. The computer-readable medium of  claim 8 , wherein the operation of upgrading at least one of the starter credit account parameters comprises:
 increasing a starter credit limit associated with the starter credit account when the customer has satisfied the predetermined criteria. 
 
     
     
       12. The computer-readable medium of  claim 8 , wherein the operation of upgrading at least one of the starter credit account parameters comprises:
 increasing a starter credit limit associated with the starter credit account and adjusting an interest rate associated with the starter credit account when the customer has satisfied the predetermined criteria during the trial period. 
 
     
     
       13. The computer-readable medium of  claim 12 , wherein the predetermined criteria include at least one of making a predetermined number of consecutive on time payments, and not exceeding the starter credit limit. 
     
     
       14. The computer-readable medium of  claim 8 , wherein the operation of upgrading at least one of the starter credit account parameters is replaced with:
 downgrading at east one of the starter credit account parameters based on the monitoring. 
 
     
     
       15. The computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the operation of downgrading further comprises:
 determining that the customer has not met a predetermined criteria during the trial period based on the monitoring; and 
 restarting the trial period. 
 
     
     
       16. The computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the operation of downgrading further comprises:
 determining that the customer has not met a predetermined criteria during the trial period based on the monitoring; 
 preventing use of the starter credit account to purchase goods and/or services; 
 increasing an interest rate associated with the starter credit account; and 
 assessing penalty fees to the starter credit account. 
 
     
     
       17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions operable to cause one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
 providing a starter credit account to a customer, wherein the customer is not eligible to receive a standard credit account; 
 monitoring the customers activities associated with the starter credit account during a trial period to determine whether the customer has satisfied predetermined criteria during the trial period; 
 notifying the customer of unsatisfied predetermined criteria during the trial period; and 
 modifying the starter credit account parameters based on the monitoring, wherein modifying includes upgrading at least one of the starter credit account parameters to match at least one of the standard credit account parameters when the customer has satisfied the predetermined criteria during the trial period. 
 
     
     
       18. The computer-readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the starter credit account parameters include at least a starter credit limit, and wherein the operation of monitoring the customers activities comprises:
 determining whether the customer has an outstanding balance associated with the starter credit limit; and 
 determining whether the customer has made a payment toward the outstanding balance. 
 
     
     
       19. The computer-readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the operation of determining whether the customer has made a payment further comprises:
 determining whether the customer has made the payment within an acceptable period of time. 
 
     
     
       20. The computer-readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the operation of modifying the starter credit account parameters comprises:
 increasing a starter credit limit associated with the starter credit account and adjusting an interest rate associated with the starter credit account when the customer has satisfied the predetermined criteria during the trial period. 
 
     
     
       21. The computer-readable medium of  claim 20 , wherein the predetermined criteria include at least one of making a predetermined number of consecutive on time payments, and not exceeding the starter credit limit. 
     
     
       22. The computer-readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the operation of modifying the starter credit account parameters comprises:
 downgrading at least one of the starter credit account parameters based on the monitoring. 
 
     
     
       23. The computer-readable medium of  claim 22 , wherein the operation of downgrading comprises:
 determining that the customer has not satisfied the predetermined criteria during the trial period based on the monitoring; and 
 restarting the trial period. 
 
     
     
       24. The computer-readable medium of  claim 22 , wherein the operation of downgrading comprises:
 determining that the customer has not satisfied the predetermined criteria during the trial period based on the monitoring; 
 preventing use of the starter credit account to purchase goods and/or services; 
 increasing an interest rate associated with the starter credit account; and 
 assessing penalty fees to the starter credit account. 
 
     
     
       25. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions operable to cause one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
 determining a group of customers with existing credit histories who have not previously applied for the standard credit account and are eligible for the starter credit account, wherein the customers included in the group each have a credit profile that prevents the customers from obtaining the standard credit account; 
 ranking the customers included in the group; 
 providing a starter credit account to each customer included in the group, wherein parameters associated with each starter credit account vary based on the rank of each customer; 
 determining a trial period for each ranked customer; 
 determining, for each ranked customer, a predetermined criteria that the customer must satisfy for the starter credit account parameters to be upgraded; and 
 for each ranked customer:
 determining whether the ranked customer has met the predetermined criteria during the trial period; and 
 upgrading the account parameters associated with the ranked customer based on the determination. 
 
 
     
     
       26. The computer-readable medium of  claim 25 , wherein the operation of adjusting the account parameters comprises:
 increasing a credit limit associated with the starter credit account when the customer has met the predetermined criteria. 
 
     
     
       27. The computer-readable medium of  claim 25 , wherein the operation of adjusting the account parameters comprises:
 adjusting an interest rate associated with the starter credit account when the customer has met the predetermined criteria. 
 
     
     
       28. The computer-readable medium of  claim 25 , wherein the operation of adjusting the account parameters comprises:
 adjusting the account parameters to reflect parameters equivalent to parameters associated with the standard credit account when the customer has met the predetermined criteria. 
 
     
     
       29. The computer-readable medium of  claim 25 , wherein the operation of adjusting the account parameters comprises:
 restarting the trial period when the customer has not met the predetermined criteria and based on the rank of the customer. 
 
     
     
       30. The computer-readable medium of  claim 25 , wherein the operation of adjusting the account parameters comprises:
 preventing the starter credit account from being used to purchase goods and/or services when the customer has not met the predetermined criteria and based on the rank of the customer. 
 
     
     
       31. The computer-readable medium of  claim 25 , wherein the operation of ranking the customers included in the group comprises:
 ranking the customers based on the credit profile of each customer included in the group. 
 
     
     
       32. The computer-readable medium of  claim 25 , wherein the predetermined criteria include at least one of making a number of consecutive on-time payments, and not exceeding a credit limit associated with the starter credit account. 
     
     
       33. The computer-readable medium of  claim 25 , wherein the operation of determining whether the ranked customer has met the predetermined criteria during the trial period comprises:
 determining at predetermined intervals within the trial period whether the customer has made a number of consecutive on-time payments associated with their respective starter credit account. 
 
     
     
       34. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions operable to cause one or more processors to perform operations for providing credit accounts, the operations comprising:
 receiving a request from a customer for a first credit account associated with a first account parameters included a first credit limit and a first interest rate; 
 providing to the customer a second credit account associated with second account parameters including a second credit limit and a second interest rate, wherein the second credit limit is lower than the first credit limit; 
 notifying the customer of a third credit limit while the customer is provided the second credit limit, the notifying including information reflecting that the third credit limit is obtainable by making a predetermined number of consecutive on time payments and wherein the third credit limit is higher than the second credit limit and lower than the first credit limit; 
 monitoring the second credit account to determine whether the customer has made the predetermined number of consecutive on time payments; and 
 changing the second credit limit to the third credit limit when it is determined that the customer has made the predetermined number of on-time payments associated with the second credit account. 
 
     
     
       35. The computer-readable medium of  claim 34 , wherein the third credit limit is based on a predetermined amount based on a number of on-time payments made by the customer. 
     
     
       36. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions operable to cause one or more processors to perform operations for providing credit accounts, the operations comprising:
 receiving a request from a customer for a first credit account associated with first account parameters including a first credit limit and a first interest rate; 
 providing to the customer a second credit account associated with second account parameters including a second credit limit and a second interest rate; 
 monitoring the second credit account to determine whether the customer has performed at least one of making a predetermined number of consecutive on time payments or not exceeding the second credit limit; and 
 changing the second interest rate to a third interest rate that is higher than the first interest rate, when it is determined that the customer has made the predetermined number of on-time payments associated with the second credit account. 
 
     
     
       37. A system for providing a credit account to a customer of an account issuer that provides a starter credit account associated with starter credit account parameters and a standard credit account associated with standard credit account parameters more favorable than the starter credit account parameters, comprising:
 a processor; and 
 a memory storing a set of instructions that, when executed by the processor, perform operations comprising:
 receiving a request for the standard credit account from the customer; 
 providing a starter credit account in place of the standard credit account to the customer; 
 monitoring the customer's activities associated with the starter credit account during a trial period to determine whether the customer has satisfied predetermined criteria; 
 modifying the duration of the trial period based on the monitored customer's activities associated with the starter credit account; and 
 upgrading at least one of the starter credit account parameters to match at least one of the standard credit account parameters when the customer has satisfied the predetermined criteria. 
 
 
     
     
       38. The system of  claim 37 , wherein the starter credit account parameters include at least a starter credit limit, and wherein the operation of monitoring the customer's activities comprises:
 determining whether the customer has an outstanding balance associated with the starter credit limit; and 
 determining whether the customer has made a payment toward the outstanding balance. 
 
     
     
       39. The system of  claim 38 , wherein the operation of determining whether the customer has made a payment further comprises:
 determining whether the customer has made the payment within an acceptable period of time. 
 
     
     
       40. The system of  claim 37 , wherein the operation of upgrading at least one of the starter credit account parameters comprises:
 increasing a starter credit limit associated with the starter credit account when the customer has satisfied the predetermined criteria. 
 
     
     
       41. The system of  claim 37 , wherein the operation of upgrading at least one of the starter credit account parameters comprises:
 increasing a starter credit limit associated with the starter credit account and adjusting an interest rate associated with the starter credit account when the customer has satisfied the predetermined criteria during the trial period. 
 
     
     
       42. The system of  claim 41 , wherein the predetermined criteria include at least one of making a predetermined number of consecutive on time payments or not exceeding the starter credit limit. 
     
     
       43. The system of  claim 37 , wherein the operation of upgrading at least one of the starter credit account parameters is replaced with:
 downgrading at least one of the starter credit account parameters based on the monitoring. 
 
     
     
       44. The system of  claim 43 , wherein the operation of downgrading further comprises:
 determining that the customer has not met a predetermined criteria during the trial period based on the monitoring; and 
 restarting the trial period. 
 
     
     
       45. The system of  claim 43 , wherein the operation of downgrading further comprises:
 determining that the customer has not met a predetermined criteria during the trial period based on the monitoring; 
 preventing use of the starter credit account to purchase goods and/or services; 
 increasing an interest rate associated with the starter credit account; and 
 assessing penalty fees to the starter credit account. 
 
     
     
       46. A system for providing a credit account to a customer of a credit issuer that provides a starter credit account associated with starter credit account parameters and a standard credit account associated with standard credit account parameters more favorable than the starter credit account parameters, comprising:
 a processor; and 
 a memory storing a set of instructions that, when executed by the processor, perform operations comprising:
 providing a starter credit account to a customer, wherein the customer is not eligible to receive a standard credit account; 
 monitoring the customers activities associated with the starter credit account during a trial period to determine whether the customer has satisfied predetermined criteria during the trial period; 
 notifying the customer of unsatisfied predetermined criteria during the trial period; and 
 modifying the starter credit account parameters based on the monitoring, wherein the modifying includes upgrading at least one of the starter credit account parameters to match at least one of the standard credit account parameters when the customer has satisfied the predetermined criteria during the trial period. 
 
 
     
     
       47. The system of  claim 46 , wherein the starter credit account parameters include at least a starter credit limit, and wherein the operation of monitoring the customers activities comprises:
 determining whether the customer has an outstanding balance associated with the starter credit limit; and 
 determining whether the customer has made a payment toward the outstanding balance. 
 
     
     
       48. The system of  claim 47 , wherein the operation of determining whether the customer has made a payment further comprises:
 determining whether the customer has made the payment within an acceptable period of time. 
 
     
     
       49. The system of  claim 46 , wherein the operation of modifying the starter credit account parameters comprises:
 increasing a starter credit limit associated with the starter credit account and adjusting an interest rate associated with the starter credit account when the customer has satisfied the predetermined criteria during the trial period. 
 
     
     
       50. The system of  claim 49 , wherein the predetermined criteria include at least one of making a predetermined number of consecutive on time payments, and not exceeding the starter credit limit. 
     
     
       51. The system of  claim 46 , wherein the operation of modifying the starter credit account parameters comprises:
 downgrading at least one of the starter credit account parameters based on the monitoring. 
 
     
     
       52. The system of  claim 51 , wherein the operation of downgrading comprises:
 determining that the customer has not satisfied the predetermined criteria during the trial period based on the monitoring; and 
 restarting the trial period. 
 
     
     
       53. The system of  claim 51 , wherein the operation of downgrading comprises:
 determining that the customer has not satisfied the predetermined criteria during the trial period based on the monitoring; 
 preventing use of the starter credit account to purchase goods and/or services; 
 increasing an interest rate associated with the starter credit account; and 
 assessing penalty fees to the starter credit account. 
 
     
     
       54. A system for providing a credit account to a customer of a credit issuer that provides a starter credit account associated with starter credit account parameters and a standard credit account associated with standard credit account parameters more favorable than the starter credit account parameters, comprising:
 a processor; and 
 a memory storing a set of instructions that, when executed by the processor, perform operations comprising:
 determining a group of customers with existing credit histories who have not previously applied for the standard credit account and are eligible for the starter credit account, wherein the customers included in the group each have a credit profile that prevents the customers from obtaining the standard credit account; 
 ranking the customers included in the group; 
 providing a starter credit account to each customer included in the group, wherein parameters associated with each starter credit account vary based on the rank of each customer; 
 determining a trial period for each ranked customer; 
 determining, for each ranked customer, a predetermined criteria that the customer must satisfy for the starter credit account parameters to be upgraded; 
 determining, for each customer, whether the ranked customer has met the predetermined criteria during the trial period; and 
 upgrading, for each customer, the account parameters associated with the ranked customer based on the determination. 
 
 
     
     
       55. The system of  claim 54 , wherein the operation of adjusting the account parameters comprises:
 increasing a credit limit associated with the starter credit account when the customer has met the predetermined criteria. 
 
     
     
       56. The system of  claim 54 , wherein the operation of adjusting the account parameters comprises:
 adjusting an interest rate associated with the starter credit account when the customer has met the predetermined criteria. 
 
     
     
       57. The system of  claim 54 , wherein the operation of adjusting the account parameters comprises:
 adjusting the account parameters to reflect parameters equivalent to parameters associated with the standard credit account when the customer has met the predetermined criteria. 
 
     
     
       58. The system of  claim 54 , wherein the operation of adjusting the account parameters comprises:
 restarting the trial period when the customer has not met the predetermined criteria and based on the rank of the customer. 
 
     
     
       59. The system of  claim 54 , wherein the operation of adjusting the account parameters comprises:
 preventing the starter credit account from being used to purchase goods and/or services when the customer has not met the predetermined criteria and based on the rank of the customer. 
 
     
     
       60. The system of  claim 54 , wherein the operation of ranking the customers included in the group comprises:
 ranking the customers based on the credit profile of each customer included in the group. 
 
     
     
       61. The system of  claim 54 , wherein the predetermined criteria include at least one of making a number of consecutive on-time payments, and not exceeding a credit limit associated with the starter credit account. 
     
     
       62. The system of  claim 54 , wherein the operation of determining whether the ranked customer has met the predetermined criteria during the trial period comprises:
 determining at predetermined intervals within the trial period whether the customer has made a number of consecutive on-time payments associated with their respective starter credit account. 
 
     
     
       63. A system for providing credit accounts, comprising:
 processor; and 
 a memory storing a set of instruction that, when executed by the processor, perform operations comprising:
 receiving a request from a customer for a first credit account associated with a first account parameters included a first credit limit and a first interest rate; 
 providing to the customer a second credit account associated with second account parameters including a second credit limit and a second interest rate, wherein the second credit limit is lower than the first credit limit; 
 notifying the customer of a third credit limit while the customer is provided the second credit limit, the notifying including information reflecting that the third credit limit is obtainable by making a predetermined number of consecutive on time payments and wherein the third credit limit is higher than the second credit limit and lower than the first credit limit; 
 monitoring the second credit account to determine whether the customer has made the predetermined number of consecutive on time payments; and 
 changing the second credit limit to the third credit limit when it is determined that the customer has made the predetermined number of on-time payments associated with the second credit account. 
 
 
     
     
       64. The system of  claim 63 , wherein the third credit limit is based on a predetermined amount based on a number of on-time payments made by the customer. 
     
     
       65. A system for providing credit accounts, comprising;
 a processor; and 
 memory storing a set of instructions that, when executed by the processor, perform operations comprising:
 receiving a request from a customer for a first credit account associated with a first account parameters included a first credit limit and a first interest rate; 
 providing to the customer a second credit account associated with second account parameters including a second credit limit and a second interest rate; 
 monitoring the second credit account to determine whether the customer has performed at least one of making a predetermined number of consecutive on time payments or not exceededing the second credit limit; and 
 changing the second interest rate to a third interest rate that is higher than the first interest rate, when it is determined that the customer has made the predetermined number of on-time payments associated with the second credit account. 
 
 
     
     
       66. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions operable to cause one or more processors o perform operation comprising:
 providing the starter credit account to the customer, wherein the customer is not eligible to receive the standard credit account; 
 monitoring the customer's activities associated with the starter credit account during a first trial period to determine whether the customer has satisfied first predetermined criteria during the first trial period; 
 modifying the starter credit account parameters based on the monitoring, the modifying including starting a second trial period and upgrading the starter credit account parameters if the customer has satisfied the predetermined criteria during the first trial period; 
 further monitoring the customer's activities associated with the modified starter credit account parameters during the second trial period to determine whether the customer has satisfied second predetermined criteria during the second trial period; and 
 further modifying the modified starter credit account parameters based on the further monitoring. 
 
     
     
       67. The computer-readable medium of  claim 66 , wherein the second predetermined criteria is the same as the first predetermined criteria. 
     
     
       68. The computer-readable medium of  claim 66 , wherein the second predetermined criteria is not the same as the first predetermined criteria. 
     
     
       69. The computer-readable medium of  claim 66 , wherein the operation of modifying the starter credit account parameters based on the monitoring comprises:
 increasing a credit limit associated with the starter credit account. 
 
     
     
       70. The computer-readable medium of  claim 69 , wherein the operation of further modifying the starter credit account parameters based on the further monitoring comprises:
 further increasing the credit limit associated with the starter credit account. 
 
     
     
       71. A system for providing a credit account to a customer of a credit issuer that provides a starter credit account associated with starter credit account parameters and a standard credit account associated with standard credit account parameters more favorable than the starter credit account parameters, comprising:
 a processor; and 
 a memory storing a set of instructions that, when executed by the processor, perform operations comprising: 
 providing the starter credit account to the customer, wherein the customer is not eligible to receive the standard credit account; 
 monitoring the customers activities associated with the starter credit account during a first trial period to determine whether the customer has satisfied first predetermined criteria during the trial period; 
 modifying the starter credit account parameters based on the monitoring, the modifying including starting a second trial period and upgrading the starter credit account parameters if the customer has satisfied the first predetermined criteria during the first trial period; 
 further monitoring the customer's activities associated with the modified starter credit account parameters during the second trial period to determine whether the customer has satisfied second predetermined criteria during the second trial period; and 
 further modifying the modified starter credit account parameters based on the further monitoring. 
 
     
     
       72. The system of  claim 71 , wherein the second predetermined criteria is the same as the first predetermined criteria. 
     
     
       73. The system of  claim 71 , wherein the second predetermined criteria is not the same as the first predetermined criteria. 
     
     
       74. The system of  claim 71 , wherein the operation of modifying the starter credit account parameters based on the monitoring comprises:
 increasing a credit limit associated with the starter credit account. 
 
     
     
       75. The system of  claim 74 , wherein the operation of further modifying the starter credit account parameters based on the further monitoring comprises:
 further increasing the credit limit associated with the starter credit account. 
 
     
     
       76. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 8 , wherein the operation of providing a starter credit account in place of the standard credit account includes:
 providing the starter credit account in response to the request for he standard credit account received from the customer. 
 
     
     
       77. The system of  claim 37 , wherein the operation of providing a starter credit account in place of the standard credit account includes:
 providing the starter credit account in response to the request for the standard credit account received from the customer.